Burning Memories
by Kazuki Landen
Summary: The hotel Mulder and Scully are in is on fire, and Mulder has to help get Scully, himself, and two young boys out of the building, while battling his fear of the fire. Completed.
1. Chapter one

Own nothing. Enjoy.  
  
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Washington DC. August 1965  
  
A young boy, about ten or eleven years old, crawled into his bed, shivering. He had glossy, dark hair and sensitive chestnut eyes. "Mom... I feel ill..."  
  
"Fox, I know you feel ill. You've been saying that all day. Now stay in bed! I'm lighting the fire, so you'll be warmer."  
  
Fox nodded, and burrowed further down into his blankets as his mother left the room.  
  
~~~ Two hours later ~~~  
  
Opening his eyes, Fox coughed and sat up. His room was filled with smoke, thick and heavy. "Mom? Mom, what's happening?"  
  
There was no reply, and Fox called again. "Mom? Dad? Where are you?"  
  
The smoke was growing thicker by the minute, and Fox coughed again, falling back down to the bed when the smoke became almost too much. Remembering the lessons he had received at his school, he rolled onto the floor, and pressed his face into the carpet, holding his sleeve over his mouth.  
  
Crawling out of the open door, Fox called again, wanting desperately to hear a reply.  
  
"Mom?" Fox bumped into the banister, but before he could grab it to halt himself, the motion carried him forwards, tumbling him down the stairs, twisting his arm painfully and banging his head on the wall at the bottom.  
  
Groaning, Fox collapsed, his head pounding and his arm throbbing- he had heard a sharp snap. He really didn't want to think about what that snap had been.  
  
The last thing Fox saw were flames, licking up the corridor towards him. Unconscious heaps a few metres into the inferno were his parents.  
  
~~ 30 minutes later ~~  
  
A man in heavy fireman's gear stumbled out of the house, carrying a small shape in his arms. "It's a kid! His parents are crisped- I brought them out a minute ago- but he's still alive! Where are the damned medics?"  
  
A woman dressed in the luminous yellow/green of the paramedics approached, clutching a canister of –the label said- oxygen and a breathing mask. "We're here, we're here. Lie him down, so we can get him breathing properly."  
  
After a few moments of the pure air, the boy sat up, coughing, but managed to gasp out, "Who are you? Where are my parents?"  
  
The fireman left, understanding what the boy was going to have to go through. The woman put her arm round his shoulders, but didn't answer the question. "What's your name?"  
  
A few more minutes of coughing left the boy shaking, but the oxygen mask steadied his breath. "I'm Fox. Where are my parents? They're not... they're not dead, are they?"  
  
"I'm really, really sorry, Fox. It was too late for them. Now, we have to get your burns treated now. Please, Fox. It's too late for them, but can still help you!"  
  
"No... please... no..." Fox's broken voice tore at the woman's heart, making her eyes tear up.  
  
"Fox, I'm so very, very sorry. But we have to get you sorted out, or your burns will only get worse."  
  
"NO! They... they can't be gone! They can't be..." A tear fell slowly from Fox's left eye, drawing a slow path down his cheek, which was already burned an angry red.  
  
"Mom... Dad... Why did I have to live, when you died...?"  
  
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Oh great. Now the authoress is depressed. Stupid plot bunnies. 


	2. Chapter two

I finished The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy yesterday. It was a trilogy in four parts.  
  
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San Francisco, California. July 2003  
  
Dana Scully groaned as she flopped onto the bed. "Thank goodness that's over. I hate meetings. Scare the heck out of me. The whole table, just staring at you like that... ugh." She shuddered, and rolled over to face Mulder. "So, I guess it'll be back to DC. You know, to meet Henry Davis."  
  
"Yup. Back to DC. More meetings." Mulder rolled his eyes. He hated meetings almost as much as Scully did. "Oh well. It should only take a couple of weeks."  
  
"Wonderful." Scully sat up and patted the side of her bed.  
  
"Nah. If I sit down, I'll never be able to get back up again. Leave me alone, so I can go and die in peace." Mulder grinned ruefully. "How come, all we've done is sit at a meeting all day, and we're like this?"  
  
"No idea. I can't be bothered to figure it out now. Go and sleep. It's too late to be up."  
  
Mulder raised his eyebrows, and grinned. "It's only nine o'clock. You don't usually go to bed until at least half ten."  
  
"My body says its midnight. Now shut up and go away." Scully pulled back the duvet and slipped underneath, not bothering to change into night clothes.  
  
Mulder sighed. "Yes, Scully. Goodnight, Scully." He followed her instructions, and left the room, to enter his own, exactly next door.  
  
~~~ Several hours later ~~~  
  
Mulder awoke, breathing hard from a nightmare filled with flames. Those breaths turned almost immediately to coughing. Smoke... filling his lungs... choking him... he cried out, memories crashing through his mind.  
  
A voice, by his ear, "Fox. Fox, come on, we have to get out. There's a fire, that's where all the smoke coming from. Come on Fox, out the door."  
  
"Scully...? I don't like fire... you know I don't like fire..." Mulder started shaking, memories flashing in front of him like a frantic movie. This was one time he really hated his photographic memory.  
  
Scully decided to try the professional approach, rather than the sentimental. "Mulder. Stand up, now. Now, Mulder." Mulder grabbed his gun and then let his body do the rest of the work, his mind occupied with terrified pictures of the past. He let Scully guide him out the door, both of them crawling to avoid the smoke.  
  
When they reached the top of the stairs, a young voice called to them. "Please? Could you help? My brother... he's scared, and I can't make him come with me."  
  
Scully glanced at Mulder. She knew how hard he was finding it to keep his cool in the smoke, though they couldn't see any flames yet. Mulder looked up, his eyes wide with suppressed panic. "It's ok, I'm fine, go help them." Scully nodded and crawled towards the room as Mulder followed.  
  
"Where are you? Keep calling so I can find you!" Scully squinted through the smoke, but the boy's voice guided her.  
  
Mulder followed her, though the smoke was getting thicker. He was breathing harder and harder, trying to keep his cool in the very re-living of his nightmare.  
  
There were two young boys, one with hair as dark as Mulders' own, the other blonde. The blonde child was shaking the other, though both of them were crouched on the floor. Scully reached them, and pulled the blonde boy away. "I'll sort him. You go."  
  
Mulder shook his head, and spoke to Scully. "You go with him. I'll help...?"  
  
The blonde boy jumped realising he was being prompted for his brother's name. "Oh! I'm Demitri. His name's Leo."  
  
Scully grinned. "The lion and the fox. You sure you'll be ok?"  
  
Mulder smiled back. "I'll be fine. Take him. I've... I've been through fire. I know what its like."  
  
A strange look on her face, Scully leaned forwards. "Be careful..." She whispered in his ear, then kissed him lightly on his right cheek.  
  
Mulder stared at Scully as she left, but shook off his stupor to sling a hand round the boy's shoulder. "Leo, you have to come with me."  
  
"But there's a fire. I don't like the fire..." Leo shook, and started to cry. Mulder glanced behind him, to where the smoke was thickening. He could almost hear the crackling of flames.  
  
"Leo. Listen to me. I hate fire, too. That's why I'm here. I know what you're going through. I went through the same thing when I was thirteen. I was terrified. So are you. I don't want you to completely stop being terrified. Heck, I'm terrified, and I'm about thirty years older than you are. No, I just want you to just stop being terrified enough to come with me. Ok?"  
  
Silently, Leo nodded. There didn't seem much else he could do.  
  
Mulder grinned. Sorted. His joy didn't last very long, however.  
  
Suddenly Leo paled, and pointed behind Mulder, who suddenly realised that what he had thought was just his imagination, was not. Flames were crackling at the door, and they were trapped.  
  
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Ok, next chapter up. Done. Woohoo. Enjoy it. I certainly didn't. Lousy plot bunnies. Lousy writer's block. Lousy shop that didn't have any chocolate buttons left. 


	3. Chapter three

Hiya everybody! I'm back! And more hyped up than ever! Plus my writer's block's gone! At last! But my brain is giving up, so... yeah.  
  
I saw an episode of Stargate SG-1 on Sky One today, and OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!!! O'Neill admitted that he loved Carter!!!!!!!!!!! That is so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And life is wonderful. And I have chocolate buttons.  
  
I own no part of X-files. Life is still good. It would be better if I did own Mulder, but hey. Life is still good!!!!!!!!!  
  
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Mulder stared at the flames, then spun to face Leo. "Right. We have to get a wet blanket to keep us safe from the flames. Take it off the bed."  
  
The two of them worked together to drag the duvet into the bathroom, then Mulder turned the shower on over it, rolling it round until it was thoroughly soaked. "Drape this over you, and we'll make a run for it. The flames are too close to bother crawling, so we'll just go as fast as we can, ok?"  
  
"Ok... I think. But I don't know if I can do this."  
  
"Sure you can, Leo. Easy as anything. I'll tell you a secret. I'm an agent for the FBI. Trust me, I've seen things a lot scarier than this."  
  
Leo looked at Mulder with new respect in his eyes. "Wicked!"  
  
"I thought that too. That's why I wanted to become an agent." Ok, so it was a white lie, but it made the kid happy. "I'll teach you some stuff, once we get out."  
  
"Great! That would be so cool!"  
  
"Now we've got that sorted, we can go. On three. One, two, three!"  
  
The two of the raced out through the room, skidded round the corner, and Mulder pulled Leo after him over the flames licking at the doorway.  
  
They took the stairs two at a time, till they got to the second floor, where Leo tripped. Mulder, pale and sweating from fright – the flames were all around them by now – swung the boy up onto his back and ran with him.  
  
By the time they got to the ground floor, Mulder's breath was coming in short gasps, and he could feel the smoke clogging up in his lungs, making it harder and harder to breathe.  
  
Leo was still conscious, and breathing a lot better than Mulder, not having to have done any running.  
  
Mulder recalled the map of the hotel, and turned down a long corridor, filled with smoke. As he reached the exit to the building, he tripped, rolled away from Leo, pushed him out of the door, and dragged himself after the young boy.  
  
He took a deep breath of the night air, saw Scully standing to one side, her arm round Leo's brother, anxiously scanning the windows for any sign of Mulder. He smiled, and called out, "Scully!"  
  
She spun to face him, and was just running towards him when Mulder's breath caught in his throat and his knees gave, pitching him to the floor.  
  
"Mulder!" Scully screamed, and dropped to her knees beside Mulder's unconscious body. Leo, terrified, raced towards his brother and they huddled in each other's arms.  
  
There were no ambulances or fire engines there yet, but the wailing of sirens was already cutting through the air. Still, Scully couldn't wait for them to arrive before giving Mulder medical attention.  
  
She felt for a pulse in Mulder's wrist, then at his neck, but neither yielded results. Putting her hands on his chest, she started to press, then leaned over his mouth and breathed out, watching Mulder's chest rise and fall twice before checking his pulse again.  
  
She did this four times before she felt a weak beat under her fingertips.  
  
Mulder's eyes flickered open and he gasped, choking, then muttered, "Scully! Where's... Leo...?"  
  
"He's ok, Mulder. Rest, rest, the ambulance is coming." Scully lay Mulder's head on her lap, gently stroking his hair out of his face.  
  
The next she knew was the ambulance men lifting Mulder onto a stretcher, and one of the women pulling her to her feet. "It's alright, come on, come with me. What's your name?"  
  
Scully pulled her FBI badge from her pocket- she was still in her shirt, where she kept the badge. "Agent Dana Scully. He's Agent Fox Mulder." Now she was a professional, purely trying to help out the rest of the authorities. "The fire started somewhere on the first floor, and when we left had taken over the whole of the second. There don't seem to have been any other people on the third floor – the last floor – and there weren't many people in the sign-in book. They may have escaped out the back."  
  
The woman nodded. "Thank you, Dana. Now, if you'll come with me, we can check you over. You've got a couple of burns on your arms, and there's a nasty one on your cheek. And we'd also like you to sit with those two kids, as well."  
  
Scully nodded, and let the woman lead her over to Leo and Demetri. The two of them had been sat in the back of an ambulance with Mulder, and Leo was crying, but a man in the uniform of a paramedic was comforting them.  
  
She sat down beside the two boys, putting an arm round each of their shoulders, and the paramedic left them. "Hey. Don't cry, Leo. It's ok."  
  
Leo looked tearfully up at her. "Is Mulder going to be ok?"  
  
"You can call him Fox, if you want. I think he's going to be fine. The doctors are going to take him to the hospital, and I think we could go with him. If you don't mind me asking, where are your parents?"  
  
"Uh... they went out. I don't know where."  
  
"Ok, Leo." Scully smiled half-heartedly. "I'm sure they'll know where we've gone."  
  
A young man in paramedics uniform climbed in with them. "If you'd please sit on the seats at the side, and do the seatbelts up, we can go. There's another two ambulances following, with more patients. We'll be at the hospital in about ten minutes."  
  
Scully nodded, and glanced at Mulder. Talking to Leo had helped take her mind off her injured partner, but now the worry was back full force. She took Mulder's left hand. "Just hold on, Mulder. Just hold on."  
  
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Next chapter coming up soon. It's already written, but only reviews will let me post it! 5 more and I'll post chapter 4 as soon as I can.  
  
I've finished all the chocolate. Now I have skittles!!!!!!! 


	4. Chapter four

Next chapter here! And I've discovered the cure for writer's block! Have half the normal amount of sleep, and it goes away! Except you can't stay awake enough to write...  
  
Carter and O'Neill are in love!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And that's so cute!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And now I'm so haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaappy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
Own nothing! Enjoy fic!  
  
LOVE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  
  
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Mulder blinked once, then again, trying to get his eyes to adjust to the florescent glare of the hospital lights. A familiar voice caught his attention. "Mulder. How're you feeling?"  
  
He turned his head – sitting on his left was Scully, a shiny red patch of skin on her left cheek, but apart from that looking calm and relaxed in casual clothes. "Uh... Not very much, actually. A bit dizzy."  
  
"That'll be the pain killers, and the sedative. You wouldn't stop moving, and it kept aggravating your burns."  
  
"Ah. How're you? Did you get out ok? Are Leo and Demitri safe? Where are they?"  
  
Scully smiled. "Ok, ok, stop already! I'm fine, thank you, apart from the burn on my cheek, which will heal. Demitri's perfectly fine. He's playing in the hospital garden. Thanks to you, Leo's safe as well, although they're both in shock. Leo keeps coming in, looking at you then going away again, muttering something about how you promised him something."  
  
"Yeah... I, uh, told him I was in the FBI." Scully raised her eyebrows. "Yes, I know, naughty Mulder. But he was scared, and it would calm him down... and it did! But... ok, so I shouldn't have. But why does it matter? Really. I mean, come on..."  
  
"Mulder. Stop babbling."  
  
"Sorry. Uh, what's wrong with me that needs pain killers?"  
  
"Well, you've got a large burn on your arm, which should only leave a small scar, at worst. It's not deep, just looks nasty. You've got a burn on your foot as well, so you might not be able to walk for a week or two. That's it, bar a few minor burns."  
  
"Wonderful." Mulder turned his eyes back to the ceiling. "Can you go get Leo-"  
  
A young, brown haired head peered round the corner. "You called?"  
  
"Leo!" Mulder cried. "Are you ok?"  
  
Scully sighed. She'd already told him that, but Mulder obviously wanted to confirm it. "I'm good. Does your arm hurt?"  
  
"No, Leo. It's fine." Mulder braced his hands on the bed and started to swing himself off it.  
  
"Mulder!" Scully cried, attempted to push him back on the bed, then gave up when he glared at her.  
  
"I'm fine. Painkillers really make pain painless." Mulder grinned, then winced as his foot touched the ground. "But I don't think it quite makes a sore foot go away. Uh... any crutches nearby?"  
  
His partner sighed. Mulder was so irritatingly stubborn. There was no way she was going to get him to lie back down now. Oh well. His problem.  
  
Scully handed Mulder the crutches that were resting against the end of his bed. "Mulder, you leave this room while I'm gone and I will personally hunt you down and tickle you to death. Got it?"  
  
Meekly, Mulder nodded. "Yes, Scully. No leaving this room. Got it. Where're you going?"  
  
"Coffee hunt."  
  
"Ah. Ok."  
  
"Don't do anything I wouldn't do." Scully warned, then sighed. "There's a change of clothes at the end of the bed, plus your holster. Don't go wandering round in a hospital gown, please, Mulder. For the sake of decency." She stood up and left, smiling slightly.  
  
Mulder turned to Leo, who was still hanging round the doorway. "Give me a hand, would you?"  
  
Leo supported him as the man got to his feet, then handed him the crutches. "Thanks. Now... where d'you want to go?"  
  
"Uh..." Leo furrowed his brow. "Didn't Miss Scully say that you had to stay here?"  
  
Mulder grinned. "You can call her Dana. I'm sure she won't mind. And we can go anywhere we want to. She'll know where to find me when she wants me."  
  
Leo stared at him, then grinned. "Ok. There's a shop down in the entrance. It has chocolate."  
  
Mulder grinned back. "Just show me the way! But, uh... could you hand me my clothes first?"  
  
Fifteen minutes later, Mulder had managed to get dressed, negotiate the elevator and avoid the nurses, but Scully still knew where he would be if she wanted to talk to him- don't women always? (A/N- yes, we do.)  
  
When they reached the café, Leo pulled back Mulder's chair and he smiled gratefully. The crutches were very awkward, and he knew that he would end up on the floor if he even thought about doing anything so complicated as moving a chair.  
  
A cheerful waitress walked over to them, and handed them a menu. "Would you like to order now?"  
  
Mulder nodded. "Leo, what do you want?"  
  
"Uh... I haven't got any money..." the boy whispered, blushing.  
  
"My treat. Well?"  
  
"Hot chocolate, please."  
  
"Two hot chocolates." Mulder noticed Scully in the corner- she hadn't yet realised that she was sitting in the same room as him. "Uh, actually, three. And could you tell the red haired woman in the corner that I'm over here?"  
  
"Sure." With a cheesy grin, the girl turned away, and made her way over to Scully. Pointing Mulder and Leo out, the two exchanged words that he couldn't hear.  
  
"The man a couple of tables over, he says to tell you that he's there. I think he likes you. But if you don't want him, I'll gladly take over! He's not bad looking!"  
  
Scully felt anger deep inside of her rise to the surface, but pushed it back down again. She was not jealous that Mulder was being looked at by another girl- she only liked him as a colleague and as a friend. Or at least, that was what she tried to tell herself.  
  
"Thank you." The waitress turned and left, letting Scully cross the crowded café to sit down next to Mulder and Leo. "I thought I told you to stay in you room."  
  
"Yup. I ignored it. You like hot chocolate, don't you?"  
  
"Love the stuff." Scully blushed. She really didn't want to say the word 'love' in front of Mulder right now.  
  
The waitress arrived, bearing three cups of hot chocolate, layered with cream and marshmallows. "Here you go." She winked at Scully, and mouthed, 'go for it!'  
  
Scully's cheeks turned redder.  
  
As the waitress moved away, Mulder frowned at Scully. "Are you ok? You look very hot. And it's not that warm in here."  
  
This, of course, made Scully blush even harder. She managed, finally, to get out, "Uh, no, I'm fine."  
  
The three of them sat there for a few minutes, breathing in the smell of the chocolate, and burning their tongues on the liquid.  
  
About ten minutes later, when the drink was only a few drops at the bottom of cups, Scully got to her feet. "Mulder, you should get back to bed. Come on."  
  
Leo nodded. "We don't want you getting poorly again, Fox."  
  
Mulder pushed a five-dollar bill onto the table for the chocolate drinks, looked from one of his helpers to the other, then resigned himself to his fate. "Yes, nurses."  
  
"Good." Scully and Leo helped him to his feet, Scully supporting him while Leo grabbed the crutches off the floor.  
  
Mulder rolled his eyes. "I'm perfectly capable of doing that myself, you know."  
  
"No you're not. Now be quiet, like a good little patient."  
  
Obediently, Mulder was silent, and followed the two of them from the café.  
  
Once they were outside, Mulder nudged Scully to the side of the corridor, letting Leo walk on ahead – the boy did so, realising that the two adults had something important to talk about.  
  
"Scully, there's a man in there with a gun."  
  
Scully sighed. "Mulder, you have a gun. I have a gun. We're not going to use them in a hospital – nor is he."  
  
"But Scully, this was the man I put in prison three years ago for the shooting of a young boy."  
  
"It can't be Colin, can it? He was only supposed to be released in about four years."  
  
"He must have escaped. And if he's got a gun with him, in a crowded hospital, he might be planning something. We have to stop him!"  
  
"Mulder, be sensible. There's only two of us, no back up, and you can barely walk. How are we going to stop him?"  
  
"Well... I was thinking that you could..." a tinge of red entered Mulder's cheeks. "That you could flirt with him, get him outside? Away from all these people?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"I know... sorry. But it would work- he never saw you, you only saw him through one-way glass. Please, Scully? What if it's Leo he hits?"  
  
"Ok, I'll do it. But you owe me big time, got it?"  
  
Mulder smiled gratefully. "Got it. Be careful, Scully."  
  
"Aren't I always?" Scully turned towards the café, with a backward glance at Mulder. "If it gets dangerous, clear everyone out. Then get reinforcements. Don't get involved – if he goes for you, you won't be able to run."  
  
Mulder nodded, and watched her go. "Good luck, Scully." He turned to Leo. "I want you to go back to my room, as quickly as you can. Whatever you do, don't come down here until I come and get you. Dana and me have to do something, and it might get dangerous. Please, Leo. This is very, very serious. Now go on, my room, now."  
  
Leo nodded, confused, but obeying anyway. "Ok. You be careful too." He ran off in the direction of the stairs.  
  
Scully, a seductive smile on her face, slipped up to Colin. She'd done many things to apprehend people, but never flirted with them. This was going to be interesting.  
  
"Hey there. Who're you, handsome?"  
  
Colin looked up, surprised, as Scully slipped into the seat opposite him. "Uh... Colin Peterson."  
  
"I'm Dana. Pleased to meet you!" Scully held out a hand, and Colin, bemused, shook it. Scully held on longer than she needed to, stroking his hand with her fingers.  
  
"Have you got a girlfriend?"  
  
"Uh... no..." Colin grinned. "You'd do, though."  
  
"Oh good... That's just what I wanted to hear..." Scully let Colin's hand gently drop to the table. "Can we go outside? Or at least... somewhere more private...?"  
  
She smiled, and licked her lips. Colin snickered, and stood, throwing a few coins onto the table to pay the bill. "Outside's good for me..."  
  
Scully took his hand, and the two of them walked out the door, with Colin grinning maniacally.  
  
Outside the hospital entrance, out of the way of people walking in and out, Scully pushed Colin up against a wall, and kissed him soundly.  
  
Mulder, in an alleyway a few metres away, glared at Colin. How come the criminals got all the luck?  
  
Holding the handcuffs in his left hand, he hopped out onto the pavement, then as he went past Scully she slipped one of her hands behind her and took them.  
  
Colin put his hands round Scully's back, pulling her closer, but Scully resisted, and pulled her head back from the kiss. "Naughty, naughty," she whispered, before slapping the handcuffs over his wrists, which were behind her back.  
  
Bending over, she slipped out of Colin's grip and backed away, snapping open her FBI identification. "Federal Agent Dana Scully. I'm arresting you for leaving prison before your sentence was served."  
  
Colin roared in betrayal, then lowered his head at Scully, and ran at her.  
  
Mulder, only a few paces away, leant on one of his crutches and tripped Colin up with the other. The man fell flat on his face.  
  
He pulled his own identification out of his pocket, and waved it in Colin's general direction. "Federal Agent Fox Mulder. Come with us, please."  
  
Scully pulled Colin to his feet, but the fall onto the hard pavement had not only given Colin a roaring nosebleed and saved Scully from his attack, but also broken the handcuffs.  
  
Colin shoved Scully away, and she fell to the ground. He glared at Mulder, and snarled, "I'm gonna kill you!"  
  
With a cry of rage, Colin launched himself at Mulder, who dropped out of the way, letting go of his crutch.  
  
Scully whipped out her cell phone and called 911 for reinforcement from the police, then slipped it back into her pocket and threw a punch at Colin.  
  
He intercepted the attack before it could do any damage, and bent Scully's arm so sharply that there was a loud crack, and Scully dropped to the ground with a cry of pain, clutching her obviously broken arm.  
  
Mulder's vision filled with the sight of his partner sitting on the dusty pavement, tears slipping from her eyes as she cradled her useless arm, whimpering in pain.  
  
Something inside of him snapped, and he suddenly became the ice cool field agent that so many criminals – and various other people – had learned to be wary of.  
  
Colin threw himself at Mulder again, ignoring Scully, now he had dealt with her.  
  
With a perfectly timed defence, Mulder rose onto one knee and threw Colin into the wall. There was a thud and a crack as he hit the wall, then only silence, and the gasps from the several onlookers.  
  
Picking up his crutches, Mulder limped over to Scully and knelt down beside her. "Come on, Scully, get up. This is a good place to break your arm, considering you're right next to a hospital." A helpful bystander put his hands on Scully's shoulders and helped her to her feet, and the two agents made their way back into the hospital.  
  
Scully sat on the bed, having her arm checked over- though it was very visible to anyone that it was broken- while Mulder stood outside. Scully hadn't wanted him there- she didn't want him to see her cry.  
  
Mulder grinned at Leo when the boy wandered along the corridor towards the room, and Leo raised his eyebrows. "Why did I have to stay in your room?"  
  
"FBI stuff, Leo. A guy with a gun. Your parents around?"  
  
"Yup. They got here a couple of minutes ago. Demitri's with them at the moment- I wanted to come and see if you were ok."  
  
"I'm good. Dana got her arm broken, though. Listen, could you go get your parents for me? I want to talk to them."  
  
"Sure."  
  
Leo raced away, and came back a few minutes later dragging a couple behind him. "Mom, Dad, this is Fox Mulder. He saved me." Leo said the last bit proudly, and Mulder held out his hand.  
  
"Glad to meet you, sir, Ma'am. I'd, uh, like to have a word with you, privately. Leo, could you go and play with Demitri for a few minutes, while I talk to your parents?"  
  
"Ok. Come and get me when you need me." And the boy was off again.  
  
"Mr and Mrs Phelps, I would like to know why on earth you left your two children alone overnight, in an unknown place with unknown people. They could have died in that fire, because you weren't there to look after them." Mulder's voice was cold and professional, with a hint of testiness.  
  
"Mr Mulder, I'm sure they would have gotten out fine even without your help. They are both very capable. And I don't see what business it is of yours, anyway! Me and Thomas both look after the children very well." Mrs Phelps tried to stare Mulder down, but he drew himself up to his full height – no mean feat, with the crutches – and pulled out his FBI badge.  
  
"Special Agent Fox Mulder, of the FBI. If I suspect there is any neglect of your children going on here, I will report it to my superiors. They will deal with the matter as it should be dealt with."  
  
Mr Phelps paled slightly. "I can assure you, we have not been neglecting our kids! You didn't have to even bother helping them – as Caroline said just now, they are both very capable."  
  
The door to the room opened, and Scully walked out, her arm in a sling but not yet plastered. She turned to Mr Phelps. "If we hadn't intervened, Demitri and Leo would have died. As it is, while helping them out, Mulder himself nearly died. He had to be given CPR at the scene."  
  
Caroline sneered at her. "Oh, and I guess you're his girlfriend, right?"  
  
"No. I'm his work partner." Scully flipped open her own badge. "Special Agent Dana Scully, also with the FBI." She had obviously overheard their previous conversation. "And we will be investigating you on the charge of neglect."  
  
"You can't do that!" Thomas cried. "We won't let you!"  
  
"I'm sure Leo and Demitri have evidence on the contrary. I have also given Leo my number, so he knows who to call if he ever thinks you are treating him unfairly, or in any way that might endanger his well being."  
  
Caroline glared at him. "You'll be hearing from my lawyer about this!"  
  
"Oh, I hope so, Ma'am. I very much hope so."  
  
As the two parents left, stalking away with my swearing under their breaths, Scully called, "Nice talking to you." She and Mulder both burst into laughter as Thomas stuck two fingers up at them behind his back.  
  
One of the nurses took Scully's unbroken arm and lead her away to get it plastered, and Mulder followed, still chuckling to himself.  
  
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Chapter 4, up and about! Next chapter – need more reviews! 


	5. Chapter five

This is probably the last chapter. I would like some more reviews, though... hint, hint...  
  
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A week or so later-  
  
The two FBI agents stood shoulder to shoulder, waiting to give their second report of Colin Peterson's death.  
  
Mulder's crutches had been thoroughly bent out of shape, and he was now leaning on a second pair, his foot still in its bandages.  
  
Scully's burn was starting to heal; though it would probably take some weeks for it to fade completely. Her arm was in a sling, and plastered. Already there were several get-well messages on it.  
  
In their offices was a large array of 'get well soon' cards, signed by almost the whole of the agents that worked in the headquarters, plus several from various friends outside of work. There were a lot fewer of those, but Mulder had got one from the Lone Gunmen, which he was very proud to receive.  
  
"You can come in now," a voice called, and Scully started forwards, slowly, waiting for Mulder to keep up with her- even after a week of practice, he could still barely control his crutches.  
  
After they had both repeated what had happened, they were dismissed, and as they left Scully pushed Mulder into an empty side corridor, then gently kissed him. "I really, really didn't like the way that girl was looking at you in the restaurant, you know."  
  
"You think I was happy with you kissing that great lout? Huh!" And Mulder kissed Scully back as his crutches fell to the floor, forgotten.  
  
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The end... for now... 


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